ROCKWOOD STRATEGIC (RKW) – Investment Trusts Price: 277p -1.2%NAV: 270pMarket Cap: £139mYield: 0.3% This specialist trust runs a concentrated, value-oriented UK strategy and is the best-performing small-cap trust over three and five years thanks to the superior stock-picking ability of manager Richard Staveley. For the six months to the end of September, the trust generated a net asset value total return of 12.5% to 279.9p, ahead of the FTSE Small-Cap Index (12.1%) but behind the FTSE AIM All-Share return (14.8%). Three new investments were made – in ingredients firm TREATT (TET), which almost immediately received a takeover offer; in education…

‘Quality compounder’ Diploma (DPLM), which distributes industrial goods, is a steady long-term performer and its FY25 results have duly delivered. Revenue for the year to September is up 12% to £1.52 billion, better than forecast, with 11% organic growth. Adjusted operating profit is up 20% to around £343 million for a margin of 22.5% vs 20.9% previously. Bear in mind, everyone says the global market is ‘challenging’ and macroeconomic uncertainty is stopping firms buying. That doesn’t seem to be the case for Diploma’s customers, however. For FY26, CEO Johnny Thomson is projecting 6% organic sales growth and a similar operating…

CREST NICHOLSON (CRST) – Construction Price: 148p -9.5%P/E: 16.7xMarket Cap: £372mYield: 2.2% Housebuilder Crest Nicholson, which seems to be in a perpetual restructuring process, said it had made good progress on inventory and costs as well as right-sizing its land bank, leading to a net debt position ‘at the better end’ of its £40m-£90m guidance for the year to October. Unfortunately, the underlying business still faces a ‘subdued’ new-build housing market so completions will be at the low end of the guidance range of 1,700-1,900 units and adjusted pre-tax profit will be at the low end or marginally below the…

HICL INFRASTRUCTURE (HICL), THE RENEWABLES INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP (TRIG)– Investment trusts HICL Price: 110p -6.5%Market Cap: £2.25bnYield: 6.5%TRIG Price: 76.9pMarket Cap: £1.72bnYield: 10.5% Investment trusts HICL and TRIG have announced a combination to create the UK’s largest listed infrastructure investment company with net assets of more than £5.3 billion. The groups say their diversified and resilient cash flows will support an initial dividend target of 9p per share and a ‘compelling target NAV total return’ of over 10% per year over the medium term. The combination will involve the winding-up of TRIG, with the assets transferred to HICL in exchange for…

DCC (DCC) – Business Services Price: £50.67 +1.1%P/E: 15.4xMarket Cap: £4.9bnYield: 1.4% Not new news but DCC confirmed today it would return £600 million of cash from the sale of its healthcare arm to investors through a tender offer for 11.95 million shares or around 12.3% of its issued capital. The price for the shares will range between £50.20 (Friday’s close) and £53.20 (6% above Friday’s close), which pretty much caps the upside for the foreseeable future. The tender offer opens today and will close at 1pm on December 17. If you’re a shareholder and you use an investment adviser…

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME (FGT) – Investment Trusts Price: 800p -1.2%NAV: 923.5pMarket Cap: £1.2bnYield: 2.23% October’s FGT factsheet has landed and it doesn’t make particularly happy reading, as if that’s a surprise to most people. The trust’s NAV (net asset value) rose 1.3% last month but the shares were down 0.1% against a 3.7% rise in the FTSE All-Share total return index. That means year-to-date the trust’s NAV is down 1.8% and the share price is down 2.9% compared with a 20.9% rise in the benchmark. One of the best-performing holdings was LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP (LSEG), which gained 11%…

WPP (WPP)– Media Price: 300p +3.9%P/E: 6.9xMarket Cap: £3.1bnYield: 8.4% Shares in serial underperformer WPP popped this morning on a Sunday Times report there was bid interest from French peer Havas and private equity groups Apollo and KKR. According to the article, the buyers could be interested in the whole business or just parts of it, but Havas, KKR and WPP have all declined to comment while Apollo told the paper it wasn’t in talks or considering a bid. Our View Like free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV), another laggard media company, WPP is a favourite takeover story, but anyone who has…

GENUIT (GEN)– Industrials Price: 313p -12%P/E: 17.5xMarket Cap: £880mYield: 3.6% To start with, today’s trading update from plumbing and pipe group Genuit came across as upbeat with revenue for the four months to end-October up some 7% on a headline basis and 3.7% on a like-for-like basis ‘demonstrating resilience and market share gains in a subdued market’. In the next breath, however, the firm lowered its full-year operating profit forecast from a range of £95-99 million to £92-95 million reflecting ‘a moderation in market volumes’ since the first-half results in August. The slowdown has been caused by ‘purchasing uncertainty relating…

LAND SECUTIES (LAND) – COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Price: 624p -3.5%P/E: 10xMarket Cap: £4.5bnYield: 6.8% On the face of it there was much to like in the Land Secs half-year report, but a combination of mixed earnings and a rubbish day for gilts meant the shares were the worst performer in the FTSE 100 in early trading. EPRA earnings for the six months to September were £192 million against £186 million the previous year, helped by a 5.2% rise in LFL rental income, but a £67 million loss on disposals soured the overall picture. On the plus side, chief executive Mark Allen…

GOODWIN (GDWN) – INDUSTRIALS Price: £216 -3.6%P/E: 20.5xMarket Cap: £1.65bnYield: 1.9% For the first time we can recall the Goodwin family have sold shares, which has inevitably raised questions over the company’s valuation. No price was mentioned, but 122,368 shares representing 1.6% of the capital changed hands with Redburn acting as sole bookrunner. The sellers have agreed to a 180-day lock-up period, meaning they can’t sell any more shares for roughly six months. Our View Considering Goodwin shares were up 175% year-to-date before today’s news, and in light of rumours around potential changes to the UK tax regime in the…